Surface coatings can be used to impart articles with desirable properties that are not possessed by the articles themselves or not possessed in a sufficient degree. For example, there are myriad applications for which it would be desirable to use electrically conductive and/or thermally conductive components having good physical properties. Because of their intrinsic conductivities and frequently advantageous physical properties, metals are often useful for such applications but can have drawbacks, including increased weight, cost, and that they can be difficult and/or inconvenient to form into a variety of shapes, including intricate parts. Furthermore, metallic coatings can require high curing temperatures and/or prolonged curing times, which can be harmful to many substrates, such as some papers, polymers, adhesives, etc.
Many of these drawbacks can be overcome by the use of polymeric materials, which can have cost, weight, processability, and flexibility of design advantages over metals. However, most polymeric materials are not intrinsically conductive enough for many applications and conductive additives must often be used to achieve the desired properties. High loadings are often required to get useful conductivities, which can be to the detriment of physical and other properties of the materials and can interfere with the processability of the polymers. Furthermore, many polymer-based coatings require curing conditions (such temperatures and times) that are also incompatible with many substrates. It would therefore be desirable to obtain polymer based compositions that have improved conductivity.